Nigeria’s food fortification programme has recorded significant progress over the past two decades, and the country has been appointed chair of the ECOWAS food fortification programme, with other West African nations now looking to Nigeria for leadership, Chairman of the National Fortification Alliance, Fred Chiazor, has said.
He further stated that the alliance is targeting between 70 and 100 per cent fortification compliance across all mandatory food vehicles within the next one to five years as part of efforts to reduce widespread micronutrient deficiencies and improve public health.
Chiazor said this at the 2026 National Fortification Alliance first Bi-Annual Meeting held in Lagos, where over 100 stakeholders drawn from government agencies, industry, civil society, development partners and academia gathered to review progress and chart the next phase of Nigeria’s large-scale food fortification programme.
The NFA chair, who described the alliance as a public-private partnership cutting across government, industry, non-governmental organisations, civil society, academia and security agencies, said the programme, which covers the mandatory fortification of flour, sugar, vegetable oil and salt, had made measurable strides in improving Nigeria’s micronutrient levels, and that Nigeria had been recognised internationally for its salt iodisation achievements.
